Tool handle



y 19.35. J. ossooo 3 TOOL HANDLE Filed May 18, 1953 Af/Wff Patented July 9, 1935 rattan TOOL HANDLE John L. DsgoodBr-rffalo, N. Y. Application May 13,1933, Serial No. 671,657

3 Claims. (01. Zia-1oz) This invention relates more particularly to improvements in tool handles of the kind which are commonly made of wood and are used for files or other hand tools having a slender, tapered tang whichis driven into, a small longitudinal.

they are suitably reinforced to prevent this result. Various kinds of reinforcements have been devised for this purpose, but as heretofore constructed they are objectionable or fall short of the intended goal for one or another reason, such as prohibitivelyincreasing the cost of. the handles, preventing the'secure retention of thehandies on the tools, or inadequately preventing the splitting or ruining ofthehandles. The inner or tool end of such handles is usuallysurrounded and protected by a metal ferrule, but

since a metal grip orrnetal surface on the portion of the handle witn which the hand contacts is recognized to be objectionable, it is usual to make the end or neck of the handle which the ferrule surrounds of reduced dimensions so that the ferrule will not contact with the hand. Therefore, the ferrule, which is made of .thin

metal and is relatively short, is'easly deformed or split and does not substantially reinforce or strengthen the handle.

My Patents NO. 857,894, granted June-25, 1907 and No. 1,355,685, granted Oct. 12, 1920 discloses handles of the sort mentioned having ametal reinforcing tube or ring extending into the handle from the inner end thereof or embedded in the handle around the tang hole. These constructions have been found by extensive use to greatly strengthen and increasethe durability of the handles. However, the thin reinforcing tube or ring which is used in these constructions surrounding an integral central core of the handle in which the tang hole is located, are of relatively small diameter so that the body of the the inner or tool end of the handle.

1 and comfortable grip for the hand.

than the reinforced handles heretofore produced,

while nevertheless having recognized advantages and structural features demanded in the ordinary wood handles used for hand tools of the kind mentioned. a

Other objects of my invention are to provide an improved tool handle of the sort mentioned which, while having an extended, comfortable wooden grip portion, free from metallic surfaces with which the hand would contact, and an internal reinforcement that adequately strengthens and prevents the splitting of the handle by the wedging action of the tooltang, at the same UNITED STATES 5PArsar-orries time has an integral tang-receiving core or socket portion of ample proportions such that it will have the requisite elasticity to allow the tang to be driven further and further in and to firmly and securely retain the handle on the tool and better resist the splitting of the, core by the repeated driving of'the tang into the socket; and also to improve handles for tools in the other respects hereinafter described and set forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevationpartly in section, of

a tool handle embodying my invention, and

showing the reinforcing tube in elevation.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, longitudinal section thereof on an enlarged scale.

. Fig. 3 is a transverse section thereof on line 2-.3, Fig. 2, on a still larger scale.

Fig. 4 is a section similar to Fig. 2, showing a slightly modified construction. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation of the handle of either construction. I A represents'the handle for a file or analogous hand tool B, having a, tapered tang b adapted to be secured in an axial bore or hole 0 in Wood has certain'recognized advantages for the ban dies of hand tools of this sort, and the handle is therefore preferably made of wood of a kind, such as bass wood, adapted to afford a smooth The handle may-be of any suitable shape, being preferably of. the accustomed shape having a somewhat reduced concave waist and short neck or inner end portion (1 of reduced diameter which, in the usual handle, is surrounded by a metal ferrule. It] represents a thin metal, reinforcing tube which extends longitudinally into the body of the handle from the tool end thereof, this tube being of a diameter to surround and snugly fit the reduced neck d of the handle. The tube is seamless or unbroken circumferentially and is made of sufiiciently thin gage to adapt it to be pressed or forced into place in the handle by means of a suitable press or tool without splitting the handle or necessitating the previous cutting or forming of an annular recess in the handle to receive the tube.

To facilitate the insertion of the tube into the handle, the inner end edge of the tube may be bevelled or sharpened, and preferably this edge is bevelled interiorly as indicated at II, Fig. 2, so that in pressing or forcing the tube into the handle, the bevel tends to compress the core or portion l2 of the handle which the tube surrounds, and there is less tendency for the tube to spread outwardly or split the outer portion of the handle surrounding the tube. The exposed outer end portion l3 of the tube, as it fits snugly around the reduced neck (1 of the handle, performs the functions of the usual ferrule, which the tube thus replaces. Since the reinforcing tube In is thus of an internal diameter at least as large as the external diameter of the neck (1 of the handle, it is of substantially greater diameter than the reinforcing tube or ring shown in my above mentioned patents, which passes through and is of substantially smaller diameter than the neck of the handle. Therefore, the core or portion 52 of the handle which the reinforcing tube surrounds or confines is of considerably larger diameter than the cores in the previous handles, and the body or mass of the core between the tang hole and the tube is much thicker and has greater elasticity and greater capacity to yield or give without splitting as the tapered tang is driven farther and farther into the handle, and the greater elasticity of the thicker walls of the core insures better friction and a firmer hold of the tang in the tang hole.

The reinforcing tube is provided at its outer end with an inturned flange M concentric with and spaced inwardly from the walls of the body of the tube, and this flange M extends a short distance into the neck of the handle, being pressed or forced therein when the tube is pressed or forced into the handle. fhis inturned flange l4 further reinforces or strengthens the neck or tool end of the handle, and the annular portion E5 of the tube connecting the inturned flange with the main body portion of the tube gives the end of the neck the finished appearance provided by the inturned flange of the usual ferrule, and this portion of the tube supplements the inturned flange M in stiffening and strengthening the outer end of the tube so as to prevent the same from being deformed or split by the wide portion of the tapered tang when the tang is driven to its limit into the handle.

The reinforcing tube is also preferably provided near its outer end with prongs or tongues 16, of which there may be any suitable number disposed in spaced relation circumferentially about the tube. These prongs, which may be punched out from the walls of the tube, preferably extend obliquely outwardly from the tube at points spaced inwardlyfrom the outer end of the tube about equal to the exposed ferrule portion !3 of the tube, so that when pressing or forcing the tube into the handle, these prongs will enter the shoulder or portion of the handle at the base of the neck l3 and will tend to retain this portion of the handle in close contact with the reinforcing tube and prevent the splitting or spreading of this portion of the handle away from the reinforcing tube. A reinforcing tube of the form shown and described can be readily formed by drawing from suitable stock, such as soft Swedish steel.

In the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the reinforcing tube I is of a length approximating that of the tang hole which, of course, is lengthened more or less as the tang is driven farther and farther in. As shown in Fig. 4 the reinforcing tube I0 is of similar construction and dimensions except that it is shorter and does not penetrate so far into the handle. When this shorter tube is used, it is preferably supplemented by a thin reinforcing ring I! forced into and embedded in the handle around the inner portion of" the tang hole 0.

I claim as my invention:

1. A tool handle having a reduced end and a hole in said end to receive the tang of a tool, and a metal tube embedded in the body of the handle between said tang hole and the exterior of the handle and surrounding said tang hole, the exposed outer portion of said tube tightly fitting said reduced end to form a protecting ferrule, and the portion of the tube which is embedded in the body of the handle being materially longer than said exposed ferrule portion thereof, said tube having at its outer end an inturned tubular flange which extends inwardly from the outer end of the ferrule portion of said tube and is embedded in the reduced end of the handle between the tang hole 5 and the wall of the tube and is spaced from the latter and from the tang hole.

2. A tool handle having a reduced end and a hole in said end to receive the tang of a tool, and a thin metal reinforcing tube located in the body of the handle between said tang hole and the exterior of the handle and surrounding said tang hole, the exposed outer portion of said tube forming a protecting ferrule around said reduced end, and the portion of the tube which is embedded in the body of the handle being materially longer than said exposed ferrule portion thereof, said tube having at its outer end an inturned tubular flange which extends inwardly from the outer end of the ferrule portion of said tube and is embedded in the reduced end of the handle between the tang hole and the wall of the tube and is spaced from the latter and from the tang hole, and prongs which project from said tube adjacent the base of said reduced end inwardly relatively to the handle and enter the body of the handle.

3. A tool handle having a tang hole extending longitudinally into the handle from one end thereof to receive the tang of a tool, and a metal reinforcing tube extending from said end longitudinally into the body of the handle for a substantial portion of the length of the handle around but spaced from said tang hole, said tube having at its outer end an inturned tubular flange which extends inwardly within said tube from its outer end and is embedded in the end of the handle between the tang hole and the wall of the tube and is spaced from the latter and from the tang hole.

JOHN L. OSGOOD. 

